Doomship Disaster
by Rachelle Davison
Summary: *Update, October 27: Added the last chapter, because for some reason the uploading screwed up and I never knew about it till now. o.o* It's bad news for Lemmy and Iggy when Wendy decides she needs their help to attack the Marios! Koopaling fans, plz read!
1. Chapter 1 (ooh, my originality astonishe...

Doomship Disaster  
  
Lemmy stumbled into his room and collapsed on the bed, thoroughly exhausted. It had been a long day.  
  
"I'll get him next time," he muttered before falling asleep.  
  
The next morning, Lemmy awoke to the sound of his sister screaming in his ears. Well, not exactly in his ears. She was behind his bedroom door, but her voice was still loud enough to register on the Richter scale.  
  
"Lemmy!" Wendy screeched. "Lemmy, you lunkhead! Wake up!"  
  
He rolled out of bed and walked to the door. Cautiously, he opened the door for his sister.  
  
"Well," Lemmy yawned. "That's a fine howdy do. What do you want?"  
  
"Where were you yesterday?" She asked, or rather, yelled.  
  
Lemmy yawned again. What could have possibly been so important as to get Wendy so riled up? True, that didn't take much, but still. Before he had time to answer, she continued.  
  
"You weren't around to help with spring cleaning day! We had to clean the whole castle!"  
  
"Oops," Lemmy smacked his head. "I completely forgot-"  
  
"That's not good enough!" she whined. "Everyone except Larry, Morton and I all found convenient excuses to be somewhere else. Roy said he had a class to go to,"  
  
Lemmy stifled a laugh.  
  
"Ludwig was inventing some new machine, and Iggy was off golfing!"  
  
"Golfing?" he asked doubtfully.  
  
"That was his excuse. What's yours?" she demanded.  
  
"For your information," Lemmy said importantly. "I was launching my monthly assault on Mario."  
  
"Well, I could really have used some help!"  
  
"What, is Princess Wendy above lowly spring cleaning duties?"  
  
"No," she moaned. "It was Morton I couldn't stand! He wouldn't stop talking! I had such a headache."  
  
"I pity you. Really. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's 7:30 AM and I believe I hear my bed still calling me."  
  
"Oh, no you don't!" she said, grabbing his shell to prevent him from leaving. "I need your help today."  
  
"But I-"  
  
"No buts. You are coming with me, right now."  
  
Lemmy gave up, defeated. He followed Wendy downstairs with a sigh.  
  
Wendy told him more over breakfast.  
  
"You see," she began. "Today is the last day of this month. And, thanks to Bowser forcing us to do spring cleaning, I still haven't attacked Mario yet."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Lemmy interrupted. "You had plenty of time during the other 30 days!"  
  
"But I was going to come up with a plan yesterday, then execute it today!"  
  
"But you knew King Dad was going to make us clean up."  
  
"True," she admitted. "But I figured I would have a good enough excuse to ditch the spring cleaning! Except when Bowser saw that only three of us were left to do it."  
  
"He made you stay."  
  
"Exactly. He wouldn't listen, and now I'm stuck with one day to execute a plan that I don't have!"  
  
"And where do I come into this?" Lemmy inquired, not really sure weather he wanted to know.  
  
"Well," Wendy smirked. "You are going to help me, along with Iggy."  
  
"But I-"  
  
"Go get Iggy. NOW!"  
  
Seeing that there was no way out, Lemmy reluctantly left the table and walked off towards Iggy's room.  
  
To his surprise, Lemmy found Iggy already awake. He only had to knock once.  
  
"Come in,"  
  
He came in and closed the door behind him.  
  
"Hi Lemmy," said Iggy. "What's up?"  
  
"The sky."  
  
"Ha ha. No, seriously, is something wrong?"  
  
"Sort of," Lemmy sighed. "Come with me, okay?"  
  
Lemmy filled Iggy in on the way to Wendy's Doomship. Or air ship, whatever you want to call it.  
  
"Aww," Iggy grumbled. "And I was gonna golf today."  
  
"Since when do you enjoy golfing, anyways?"  
  
"Well, actually, I don't." He grinned. "It seemed to work on King Dad, though."  
  
Wendy was waiting for them at the docking bay.  
  
"Come in," she said, leading them to the bridge. "As you already know, you are here to help me attack Mario. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Attack Mario, kidnap Princess Peach and wreak some serious havoc while you're at it! And don't forget that you have to be back by tomorrow! Any questions?"  
  
"And if we don't choose to accept?" asked Iggy.  
  
"Then I'll lock you in a padded cell and force you to listen to Morton talk until you do accept,"  
  
Lemmy and Iggy gulped.  
  
"Who does what?" asked Lemmy.  
  
"Well," Wendy began, "Lemmy, you plan what to do, and Iggy, you help Lemmy follow through with his plan. As for me, I'll came along to help you, and take credit for whatever you accomplish."  
  
"Great," Lemmy rolled his eyes. "We work and you check up on us."  
  
"Yeah," Wendy agreed. "That's the basic concept."  
  
"Well, guess we'd better get to work," he said.  
  
"Oh joy," Iggy muttered, as the two stepped up to the steering wheel of the enormous Doomship.  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison, 2001 


	2. Chapter 2

***  
  
The first thing that really hit them was the view.  
  
"Wow," He breathed. "You can see the whole Mushroom Kingdom from here!"  
  
"Yeah," Agreed Iggy. "There's Grass Land, and that's Water Land over there!"  
  
"And there's."  
  
"Peach's castle,"  
  
"Uh-huh," Lemmy answered dully, suddenly realizing for the first time what a job they might have ahead of them. If they only knew.  
  
"Dang her!" Lemmy yelled suddenly. "Why does Wendy do this? She gets herself into huge messes, and then decides that she can't deal. So what does she do? She finds someone else to dump her problems on! It's not fair!"  
  
Iggy was surprised at this. It wasn't normally like Lemmy to be so aggressive.  
  
"Life got fair?" Iggy asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"  
  
"Never mind," Lemmy answered, suddenly drained. "Let's get to it, we've got work to do."  
  
So Lemmy walked off to another room close by to create a plan. Iggy stayed at the bridge, staring at the controls. He would have to figure them out in the next half an hour or so if he was going to be able to control the Doomship itself.  
  
"Why couldn't Lemmy have been the one to drive?" Iggy complained to himself. "I'm better at planning stuff out anyways. Even he knows that! I don't even know what most of these buttons do."  
  
He grinned to himself.  
  
"I guess I'll have to find out."  
  
Lemmy wasn't doing much better.  
  
"Well, maybe we could disable the defense system and. No, that won't work. Too heavily guarded. Hmm, maybe if the main power source was knocked out and. Nope, there are always reserve supplies."  
  
He stopped for a moment.  
  
"Ugh, this is harder than I thought it would be. Why couldn't I be the one to carry out the plan? I don't even think Iggy knows how to-"  
  
He was stopped short however, because the Doomship suddenly spinning loops in the sky. The whole room was literally spinning. Lemmy suddenly found himself on the ceiling.  
  
"WOAH!" was all he had the presence of mind to say. He was being repeatedly slammed against alternating sides of the small room he was in, first the wall, then the ceiling, then on the floor. And then all over again.  
  
Wall.  
  
"Aaah!"  
  
Floor.  
  
"Oomph!"  
  
Another wall.  
  
"Ugh,"  
  
Ceiling.  
  
Then everything stopped.  
  
Lemmy lay on the floor panting, too out of breath to speak at all. His vision was a hazy blur, and there was at least three of everything he saw.  
  
"Oooh," He groaned, sitting up. He had a nasty bump on his head, along with other various bruises on his body.  
  
The world was finally beginning to come into focus again, so he stood up, dizzy.  
  
Wanting an explanation, he walked in a sort of zigzag pattern towards the bridge.  
  
"Iggy," he gasped. "What. Happened?" He noticed that his brother was also sporting a few new bruises and a black eye.  
  
Iggy looked somewhat embarrassed.  
  
"Eh-heh, Well, you see." he began. I don't really know how to fly one of these things. I didn't know what any of the buttons did, so I, uh, just kind of pushed a whole bunch of different buttons to find out."  
  
"You what!?" Exclaimed Lemmy. "You could have killed both of us!"  
  
"Well, at least we're ok, right? It could have been worse. It's not going to happen again, I swear!"  
  
"That's right, it won't happen again. I'm driving from here on."  
  
"But-" Lemmy's look stopped him dead.  
  
"Alright, alright," Iggy said. "I didn't want to anyways."  
  
And with that, Iggy headed off to the room in which Lemmy was previously.  
  
"We've got a long way to go," Lemmy sighed.  
  
Some time later Iggy stepped back into the bridge.  
  
"Well?" inquired Lemmy. "What's the plan?"  
  
"First, you need to know exactly how hard I worked on this," said Iggy. "It takes a very superior mind to think up such a complex, diverse-"  
  
"Alright, I get the point," interrupted Lemmy. "So I ask again. What's the plan?"  
  
"We cloak the Doomship so no one can see it. Then, we fire some sort of bomb at the power plant. While the whole Mushroom Kingdom is in chaos, we sneak into the castle, snatch Peach and get out of there! It should be very dark without any lights at all, but according to my calculations, we must hurry. We have to do it all in about five minutes."  
  
"Why five minutes?"  
  
"Because that's how long it'll take for the emergency power to kick in. Then, the lights will come back on, and we'll be busted."  
  
"Okay, then, let's get this show on the road! Iggy, when I give you the signal, you press that button," Lemmy indicated a large red button. "That will engage the targeting system. When the target falls on Peach's power plant, press it again to fire!"  
  
And with this, Lemmy turned to the main screen.  
  
"Screen on," he said. The screen snapped on, expanding the already huge view threefold.  
  
"Cool!" exulted Iggy.  
  
"Set direct course for the Mushroom power plant," ordered Lemmy. Amazingly, the Doomship began to do so. Lemmy relaxed a little, they were on their way. This feeling only lasted about two minutes however.  
  
Suddenly, the whole Doomship shuddered. The force reverberated through the bridge and nearly knocked Iggy off his feat.  
  
"Wha?" Iggy stammered. "What was that?" Amazingly, the ship responded.  
  
"There is a fractured propeller on deck three," the disembodied voice of the Doomship informed them. "If the problem is not fixed in approximately 30 seconds, it will cease to function."  
  
"Does that mean the whole thing will fall out of the air?" Iggy panicked.  
  
"I think so. It must have been your previous loop-de-loops with the ship that broke it,"  
  
Iggy gulped, because there was suddenly a countdown on the screen. 30. 29.  
  
"What's happening here?" Wendy's voice suddenly growled from behind them.  
  
"Aaah!" They screamed.  
  
"First I end up doing somersaults in the air, and now it feels like there was just an earthquake! What happened?" She sounded angry and there was a little vein popping out on her forehead.  
  
"There's a broken propeller!" said Iggy.  
  
"And if it isn't fixed in," Lemmy glanced at the timer. "Twenty seconds, we're gonna crash!"  
  
"WHAT?" Wendy screamed. "Computer, engage auto repair!"  
  
"Auto repair engaged. Will take approximately three minutes."  
  
"But we don't have three minutes!" Lemmy cried. The timer kept ticking.  
  
15. 14. 13.  
  
"We have to get out of here!" Wendy exclaimed. She hurried over to the escape hatch and grabbed a parachute. Iggy and Lemmy did the same.  
  
"I can't get it on!" wailed Iggy as Wendy jumped out the hatch.  
  
10. 9.  
  
Lemmy, who already had his parachute on, struggled to help Iggy get his on. To his dismay, it soon became tangled.  
  
6. 5.  
  
"Go on!" Iggy ordered. "While you still can!"  
  
"But I can't leave you!"  
  
4. 3.  
  
"Go ON!"  
  
And with that, Iggy pushed his brother out of the escape hatch. Lemmy had no choice but to pull the cord on his own parachute. It ballooned out of the package and he began to float down.  
  
Iggy struggled furiously with his parachute, now a tangled mess.  
  
2. 1.  
  
"Noooooo!" Lemmy cried. He could only watch as the huge Doomship plummeted towards the ground.  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	3. Chapter 3

***  
  
On the way down, Lemmy looked around. All he could see for miles was a vast desert. There was a huge expanse of mountains in the distance, and a few rocky hills scattered around the desert itself. The whole place seemed abandoned.  
  
By the time Lemmy floated to the ground, Wendy had already landed. She looked relieved to see him.  
  
"Whew!" she sighed. "I thought we were done for up there!"  
  
She looked up in the direction of the Doomship. It was gone, but her eyes were still aimed skyward.  
  
"Lemmy," said Wendy slowly. "Where's Iggy?"  
  
"Well, um," Lemmy felt like he was going to be sick. "Iggy's not here."  
  
"Well I can see that. Where is he? He's not. He did make it down, right?"  
  
He couldn't bring himself to say the words out loud, but Wendy only had to see the look on his face to figure it out.  
  
"No," her voice wavered. Her eyes voiced a silent plea. "No. He's not dead. Tell me he's all right. Please."  
  
"I couldn't. Couldn't help," His voice cracked. He couldn't say it, or he knew he'd fall apart. "I tried. Not enough time."  
  
He clenched his fists in anger suddenly. He hated everyone and everything right now. He was mad at Wendy, for bringing this upon him. At himself, for not being able to help his brother when he really needed it. At Iggy, for pushing him out, when there was a chance he could have helped. A chance.  
  
Lemmy held back tears. He knew it wasn't fair of him to think this way, but he wasn't thinking clearly. He ran through the last couple of seconds on the Doomship in his mind. Through his blurring vision, he could almost see Iggy trying to get his parachute strings untangled.  
  
He closed his eyes abruptly. He didn't want to see any more. But the still fresh memories could not be shut out.  
  
He remembered trying to help. How Iggy had saved his life, but Lemmy couldn't help him. He couldn't help. Couldn't help. The ship with his brother on it had fallen right out of the sky, and Lemmy had been powerless to stop it.  
  
It was all too much. He turned away. He didn't want Wendy to see him cry.  
  
He could hear Wendy crying, cursing at herself behind him. He guessed that she must have felt just about how he did right at that moment. There were so many emotions and thoughts, all racing at a mile a minute inside his head. Sadness, anger, and regret were all jumbled together in a confusing mess.  
  
"It's all my fault!" Wendy sobbed. "It's all my fault, for forcing you two into this! I'm sorry," she took a deep breath of air. "I am so sorry,"  
  
It was the most sincere apology that Lemmy had ever heard from anyone, let alone Wendy. He knew he should be trying to comfort her, but he couldn't even concentrate any more.  
  
"It's not your fault," was all he could manage. "I need to be alone for a while."  
  
And with that, he began to trudge off. All he knew was that he had to be alone. Each step felt like his foot weighed a ton. He took about three steps, stumbled, and collapsed on the hot sand. He didn't even know where he was. They were both lost. Lost in some sort of barren wasteland, without even the vaguest idea of how to get home.  
  
Soon, he was vaguely aware that Wendy had sat down beside him. He was too confused to hear what she was saying, but her soft words comforted him. His crying slowed to a soft whimper.  
  
He soon drifted off to sleep, shrouded by a depressing sense of hopelessness.  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	4. Chapter 4

***  
  
The next morning, Lemmy woke with a start.  
  
"What?"  
  
Why wasn't he in his room? Where was his bed? Everything was wrong. He sat up and looked around. He saw miles of sand in every direction. Wendy was curled up asleep a meter or so away from him.  
  
"Oh no," he muttered. So it wasn't all a bad dream. Iggy really was . gone. He and Wendy really were stranded in the middle of nowhere.  
  
He shut his eyes again. Maybe he was still dreaming. Maybe if he kept his eyes closed long enough, he'd wake up in his bed. He closed his eyes and kept them that way for a long time. Eventually, he fell asleep again. His body may not have needed sleep, but his mind was still exhausted.  
  
It was quite a while later when he woke up again. He probably wouldn't have even gotten up at all if it weren't for Wendy.  
  
"Lemmy?" she whispered. "Lemmy, wake up."  
  
"Mmmph," he grunted. He never wanted to get out of bed again. But then again, he wasn't sleeping in a bed, so he slowly sat up.  
  
"Come on, sleepy head," she prodded. "We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Wherever this place happens to be."  
  
"What?" Lemmy questioned, getting to his feet. "You mean we're not in Desert Land?"  
  
"Not as far as I can tell."  
  
"How exactly can you tell? It looks for all the world like Desert Land to me."  
  
"See those mountains in the distance? They are very far away, but we can still see them clearly. That means that they're probably huge."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Desert Land has no huge mountains like those. I don't know where we are, but it is not Desert Land."  
  
"How fast did that Doomship of yours travel?" Lemmy wondered aloud. "How could we have ended up way out here when we where only in the air for about five minutes?"  
  
"Well, Ludwig designed it to be as aerodynamic as possible, reducing any resistance. This makes it very fast, so. I would estimate about 40 thousand miles per hour."  
  
"That's your idea of an estimate? You just pull all this info out of thin air?"  
  
"Hey, some of us actually pay attention in class. Also, Ludwig told me how fast he thought it was capable of going when he gave me the ship's blueprints."  
  
"But you just said-"  
  
"Okay, okay, so it was Ludwig's estimate, not mine. But either way, I still think it's best to get out of here, soon."  
  
"Right," agreed Lemmy. "We'd better get going. Those mountains seem as good of a direction as any."  
  
"I don't know. Those are a long ways away, Lemmy."  
  
"You have a better idea?"  
  
"I guess not."  
  
And with that, they were on their way. The mountains seemed a long way off. And they were.  
  
Neither of them did much talking for a long time after that. They trudged on endlessly, never stopping to rest. Perhaps if there had been any food to speak of, the two Koopalings might have rested for a while. But there wasn't, and so there was no reason to stop.  
  
The hours passed by. Every now and then, one of them would look up a little, but the mountains never seemed to be getting any closer. The sun beat down on them mercilessly, and fatigue began to weigh down their legs. Each step on the scorching sand was painful.  
  
"Come on Lemmy," panted Wendy much later. "Can't we stop for a few minutes? I'm sure I'll collapse if I have to stand a minute longer."  
  
Lemmy hesitated. There was no shade, so even a rest wouldn't keep them from the sun's blistering rays. Those mountains still seemed awfully far away, too. They would need every bit of distance they could get if they wanted to make it at all.  
  
On the other hand, he wasn't even sure if his own legs would support him much longer if they went on like this.  
  
"Okay," Lemmy answered wearily. He sat down abruptly, and Wendy collapsed on the sand.  
  
"Ooh," she gasped. "We've been walking since we woke up,"  
  
Lemmy was surprised. Daybreak had been a long time ago. Had they really been walking for that long? He berated himself. He should have known not to push their limits like that.  
  
They waited about half an hour, and then pressed on when they felt ready to walk again. The walk was more or less uneventful. Apart from the sand, the only thing they saw was the occasional cactus. Wendy almost fell over when she thought she saw something move.  
  
"Whoa!" she cried suddenly.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I thought I saw." she trailed off. Already it seemed more like an illusion. They kept walking.  
  
Suddenly, something whizzed by them, blowing a cloud of dust in its wake. The dust blocked his vision a little, but Lemmy caught a glimpse of feathers. It continued on its speedy path.  
  
"What was that, a roadrunner?" Lemmy demanded of no one. Whatever it was seemed to be coming around for another pass. It zipped closer to them than before, and came to a dead stop right in front of them.  
  
"That's it!" Wendy exclaimed. "That's the thing I saw!"  
  
This bird-like creature stood about a foot taller than both of the Koopas. It had two powerful legs and was covered in feathers. Atop its long neck rested a small head with a beak and two intelligent-looking eyes. Its two feathery wings somehow didn't look as if they were meant for flight.  
  
"It's." Wendy examined the creature carefully. "An Ostro. That's what it looks like."  
  
The Ostro curiously tilted its head at them, as if to ask, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Maybe we could eat it," suggested Lemmy hungrily. "We haven't eaten for at least 24 hours, and I' starving!"  
  
"We certainly will not!" Wendy practically screamed. "How could you kill something this sweet?"  
  
"Well, gee. That makes perfect sense," Lemmy rolled his eyes. "If we are going to starve to death, we probably shouldn't live if it's at the expense of something cute, should we?"  
  
"Oh, shut up. We could use it for something else. Did you see how fast this thing was running?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, maybe we could ride it! Wouldn't that be better than walking?" she turned to the Ostro. "You'd give us a ride, wouldn't you?"  
  
As if to answer, it lowered its long neck. It was too tall to climb onto, but the could use its head as a sort of ladder.  
  
"See?" said Wendy. "It even wants to help us."  
  
Having no better ideas, Lemmy followed his sister onto the back of the tall bird.  
  
"Are you sure this is safe?" he asked uneasily as he sat down behind Wendy.  
  
"Nope," responded Wendy immediately. "But now we don't have to do the walking anymore! Isn't that right, Ossie?"  
  
"Now it has a name?"  
  
"Ignore him, Ossie," Wendy told the Ostro. She patted its head lovingly. "Now, can you take us to those mountains over there?"  
  
The Ostro, or Ossie, as I suppose we must now call him, responded by heading off towards the mountains at top speed. Unfortunately, with two koopas now weighing him down, Ossie's "top speed" was only about the average running speed of a Koopa. Still, even Lemmy had to admit to himself that it was better than walking.  
  
This didn't solve all of their problems, not by a long shot. The sun was still hot and hunger still tore at their insides. But at least now they wouldn't have to worry about transportation.  
  
Their spirits now slightly higher, the two Koopalings tried to enjoy themselves as they rode on the back of their newfound friend.  
  
Even though it was clear that Wendy was enjoying herself, one single thought kept returning to Lemmy's mind.  
  
It was Iggy. He still couldn't bring himself to believe that his brother was gone. The two had been like best friends from the beginning, always looking out for each other. The best of times, the worst of times, they had always come through together.  
  
And now, Lemmy thought to himself sadly, Iggy was gone. Only in memories did he still exist.  
  
He knew that he shouldn't raise false hopes for himself. But still, he couldn't help nursing the small hope that his brother had somehow survived the crash. That he really was still alive out there somewhere.  
  
Somewhere.  
  
  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	5. Chapter 5

***  
  
Even with the help of Ossie, the going was not quite as speedy as they had hoped. By the end of the day, they still hadn't reached their goal. The sun began to set. Soon enough, the night sky swept over the desert like a dark blanket.  
  
It was considerably cooler at night, and Lemmy decided it would be best if they all got some sleep. The sand wasn't so hot now, so they tried to make themselves comfortable on the ground.  
  
Wendy and Lemmy had a little bit of trouble getting comfy. Ossie, however, just tucked his head under his wing and began to happily saw Zs. Sleep eventually found Lemmy and Wendy, too.  
  
Before she drifted off, Wendy took one last look at the mountains. She smiled to herself, despite her growing hunger. They were getting closer.  
  
***  
  
Lemmy awoke late that night, plagued by bad memories present even in his dreams. He sighed to himself as he lay on the desert sands. There was no peace, even in sleep.  
  
He shivered. Without the smoldering heat of the sun, the sandy terrain was actually quite chilly. With another sigh, he turned over and tried to get back to sleep.  
  
The next morning, it was Lemmy who woke up first.  
  
"C'mon, you two!" he urged. "Up and at 'em! We want to get an early start, so we can get there as quickly as possible."  
  
Wendy yawned as she got to her feet. Ossie stood up and fluffed his feathers.  
  
"Lemmy, how do we even know what's in those mountains?" Wendy asked. "How do we know that there'll be food?"  
  
"If there isn't any, were going to starve. So there's better be,"  
  
"Well, I'm reassured now," Wendy muttered sarcastically. "I feel so much better."  
  
Somehow, Ossie never seemed to get tired of giving the two ride, or if he did, he never complained. The only speech they actually ever heard from Ossie was the occasional squawk. He ran flat-out all day, seemingly effortlessly.  
  
"How does this bird do it?" Lemmy marveled.  
  
"I dunno," Wendy responded blankly. "He's been at it all morning,"  
  
By what would normally have been lunchtime, Lemmy was beginning to worry about his sister. It had been at least 48 hours since their last meal, and she was starving. Lemmy was also ravenously hungry, but Wendy looked extremely pale. She hung onto Ossie's neck for all she was worth. It was all she could do not to pass out.  
  
Lemmy normally would have offered some words of encouragement, but not now. To speak was to expend energy, something they could not afford to lose any more of. Suddenly feeling faint himself, he did as Wendy was doing. He clung to her shell and closed his eyes tight.  
  
The rest of the day continued in an empty silence. There wasn't even anything to do, except contemplate their hunger. It was a good thing they had ride, because neither of the Koopalings had the energy to do anything other than make sure they didn't fall off of Ossie.  
  
Because they both had their eyes closed, neither of the two siblings noticed when night came once again. They never bothered to look at the far- off mountains. They were caught completely off-guard when Ossie came to a sudden stop, and abruptly fell off of the large Ostro.  
  
Surprised, Lemmy looked around groggily, dimly wondering why he hadn't even felt the impact of the ground.  
  
He was shocked to find around him, not a fierce desert but a gentle oasis. All around was lush grass, trees and. water! A whole pond of it! Snapping to his senses, he noticed Wendy, who seemed to have finally let go of her battle to stay conscious.  
  
"Wendy." Lemmy's throat hurt even to speak now, it was so dry. He struggled to wake her, but nothing seemed to work. Mustering all of the little strength he had left, he dragged his sister to the pool of water and splashed a little on her. This seemed to revive her somewhat.  
  
"Wha." she trailed off at the sight of water, right there in front of her! The two dehydrated Koopas drank greedily until they thought they would burst. Ossie calmly downed his fill.  
  
At the sight of a fruit-bearing tree, Lemmy immediately ran over. Oranges. He rushed back to the pool with a few to Wendy, who was now wading in the water and trying to drink it at the same time.  
  
Wendy hastily ripped the peel off and bit into the orange, as did Lemmy. Though they thought they would die of happiness, Ossie seemed to prefer the trees' leaves instead.  
  
"Ahh..." Wendy sighed contentedly. "You sure you don't want to come for a swim? The water's great!"  
  
Lemmy shook his head no. After so long with nothing but hot sand, he found it welcoming just to lie on the cool grass.  
  
After a good hour or so of just enjoying the cool water and fresh oranges, Lemmy suddenly remembered something.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Wherever it is, it's a lot better than that desert,"  
  
"I guess we have Ossie to thank for that," Lemmy said gratefully. He gave Ossie a pat on the head. "Thanks, bud. We probably wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you." Ossie squawked proudly at the comment.  
  
"Hey Ossie." Lemmy asked slowly. "Do you happen to know where we are?" He was surprised when the huge bird began tugging at his shell, urging him in another direction. He hadn't really expected an answer.  
  
"And just where are you two going?"  
  
"We'll be back in a minute!"  
  
Ossie led Lemmy to the top of a nearby hill. What met his eyes was probably the last thing he would have expected.  
  
"Wendy?" he called down the hill. "I think you should come see this!" Wendy tore herself away from the pond and walked the short distance up the hill.  
  
"What is it, Lemmy?" she asked. "What is so." she stopped.  
  
They were on top one of the very mountains they had almost died trying to reach.  
  
They could see the whole desert from up there, every sand dune and cactus. It reminded Lemmy of the view he has shared with his brother, only days ago. Had it only been two days? It seemed like years had passed since the Doomship had crashed. Suddenly, a voice from behind made them jump.  
  
"Hello?" asked the voice. They recognized it as a female's voice. "Who are you?"  
  
Slowly, they turned around to face.  
  
"A birdo?" asked Lemmy in disbelief. How could anything live this far out into the desert? On the other hand, he thought as he looked around, this place didn't seem much like a desert.  
  
"No duh." Replied the birdo. "What are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen one before?"  
  
It wasn't only the fact that she was the only living thing (besides Ossie) that they'd seen for days that made them stare, or even that they'd never seen a birdo before. They had. What made them stare was that this birdo was blazing white.  
  
"Hello? Can you hear me? What's wrong with you, can't you talk?"  
  
"Yeah, we can talk," answered Wendy. "It's just that you're so. so."  
  
"White?"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"I'm just albino, that's all," she laughed. "Who are you two? And what are you doing in my back yard?"  
  
"What?" Lemmy blurted. "Your back yard!? We are out in the middle of some blazing desert, and then find ourselves somehow in this oasis. Which, may I also mention, was only because of that Ostro over there-"  
  
"Ossie," interrupted Wendy.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"I live a few minutes away, but I do own this property. You know, maybe you should come with me," suggested the birdo. "I live within walking distance of here, and you two could straighten out your tale when we get there."  
  
"That sounds good," Wendy agreed. "Um, what did you say your name was?"  
  
"Actually, I didn't. But since you asked, it's Rachelle. Now I ask again, what are your names?"  
  
"Well, I'm Wendy. And this here is my space cadet brother, Lemmy."  
  
"Hey!" protested Lemmy.  
  
"Okay then, let's get a move on," said Rachelle. "My place is about a twenty minute walk from here."  
  
"No need to worry about that," cooed Wendy. She pointed over in the direction of the orange trees. "We have Ossie."  
  
  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	6. Chapter 6

***  
  
With Ossie's help, the 20-minute walk took only about 10 minutes. Most of the ride was easy enough for Ossie, since they were traveling down the other side of the mountain, and the two Koopalings along with Rachelle enjoyed the wind in their faces.  
  
Lemmy was astonished to see that much of what lay on the other side of the mountain seemed exactly the opposite of the desert; warm, lush, and green. Not scorching hot, like the desert. Just warm.  
  
Soon they arrived at Rachelle's house. It was in a village full of Birdos. Even though Lemmy and Wendy had never seen so many Birdos in one place, Rachelle seemed indifferent. She was obviously used to it.  
  
"Whee!" yelled Rachelle as the trio climbed off of Ossie. "That sure beats walking!"  
  
"That's what we thought too," agreed Wendy.  
  
Inside, Lemmy and Wendy were able to tell their story in more detail. They told her everything that had happened since they first walked onto the Doomship. About everything, that is, except Iggy. There was no need to go around telling that to a complete stranger. Rachelle seemed nice enough, but they had still only just met her.  
  
"Well, it seems like you're in quite a predicament," she stated after the two were finished talking. "How you even managed to make it this far is beyond me. The desert is pretty harsh."  
  
"So we noticed," said Lemmy.  
  
"Well, you tell me you came from Plit. That's pretty far off. You might want to take a boat or something," Rachelle suggested. "To try to find some way back to the mainland."  
  
"Huh?" Wendy wondered aloud. "If we're not on the mainland. then where are we?"  
  
"Yoshi Island, of course," Rachelle answered. "Where did you think you were?"  
  
"Uh, Yoshi Island didn't exactly occur to us."  
  
"Being unexpectedly stranded in a foreign environment can do that to a Koopa," added Lemmy sarcastically.  
  
"So we'd need a boat or something then?" Wendy asked. "We don't have any coins or anything, so we couldn't rent one."  
  
"No problem," answered Rachelle. "There are always a few ways to cross the ocean without money. Or at least maybe one way."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"You bet. There are usually some Gooney Birds down by the beach. They're pretty big, and I've seen them fly great distances without landing. Maybe you could hitch a ride."  
  
"Anything is fine," said Lemmy quickly. "As long as it works."  
  
And that's how shortly later, the two Koopalings ended up making total fools of themselves trying to catch a Gooney Bird. They tried everything from laying baited traps to flinging themselves at the oversized seagulls in hopes of capturing one while Rachelle tried to stifle her laughter.  
  
"Hey, you shut up!" Wendy said indignantly. "It's not as easy as it looks, you know."  
  
"But you look so funny!" Rachelle giggled.  
  
Finally, Lemmy managed to grab one by the foot. The two girls managed to help him hold it down before it carried him off.  
  
"I've got. a Gooney Bird," gasped Lemmy as he tried to catch his breath. "Now what?"  
  
"Well, now you have to catch another one," Rachelle told him. "You think this one can carry you both all alone?"  
  
After some more failed attempts, Wendy grabbed herself another Gooney Bird and struggled to restrain it.  
  
After thanking Rachelle and bidding Ossie a tearful farewell (at least on Wendy's part), they were on their way. Wendy sniffled. She'd become quite attached to their feathery friend.  
  
"Thanks for everything!" Wendy yelled back at the last minute. "Don't forget to write!"  
  
Riding on a Gooney Bird wasn't too complicated, and Lemmy learned early on in the flight that as long they let the bird do what ever it wanted, there wasn't much to worry about. He tried to steer his Gooney Bird, and the look it gave him could have frozen water. They tried to fly within speaking distance, but this also proved to be a difficult task.  
  
Finally, Lemmy's Gooney Bird just had to take a rest. It landed on the water, but Wendy's just kept on going.  
  
"Hey, you!" she exclaimed frantically. "Bird! Stop flying! Take a rest! You heard me, land already!"  
  
The bird ignored her until she bonked it on the head. It decided it didn't like that and finally landed in the water. She came to a buoyant stop a ways off from Lemmy, but she could still see him. Soon, Lemmy's bird took to the air again, and another bonk prompted Wendy's into doing the same thing.  
  
After around three more hours of flying, it was Lemmy who first spotted land. He shouted to Wendy, who was too far away to understand what he was saying until she saw it for herself. She cried out happily. This annoyed her Gooney Bird.  
  
It decided that it had put up with too much, and attempted to dislodge its unwelcome rider. It shook and bumped around and generally just caused a lot of trouble for Wendy until she finally couldn't hold on any longer. Down she fell, landing with a splash.  
  
"S-s-stupid b-b-bird!" she chattered as she tread the icy-cold water. "I k- k-knew this was a b-b-bad idea!"  
  
Lemmy wasn't worried about his sister drowning; she was a very good swimmer. However, the water was extremely cold, so he knew he'd have to get her out as soon as possible. Actually achieving this was not so easily done though. He wrestled for flight control for a minute or so before persuading the bird to land near to Wendy.  
  
"I h-h-hate Gooney B-b-birds," Wendy muttered to herself as she climbed on with Lemmy.  
  
The single Gooney Bird couldn't fly with both of them on its back, so they had to float to shore. This took a little bit longer, but its little legs still paddled furiously as they headed towards the mainland.  
  
Finally, after hours at sea, the two Koopalings were delighted to finally find themselves on solid ground once more. They tried to ignore the weird looks they were getting from people as they drank in the familiar sights of the Mushroom Kingdom. They were almost home.  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	7. Chapter 7

***  
  
After they recovered from the initial shock of finally being within reach of their goal, Lemmy pointed out the obvious.  
  
"Where do we go from here? We still don't really know where we are."  
  
"Um," Wendy faltered. "Maybe we could. Uh. no, wait. Erm, I really have no idea."  
  
"I guess we'll have to ask someone then," Lemmy sighed. He approached a small Toad and crouched down to its' height. "Do you know where we are?" The young Toad froze for a moment, and then began to scream.  
  
"Mommy!" it wailed suddenly. The Toad's mother rushed over and picked up her bawling child. Lemmy was about to ask her the same question, when:  
  
SLAP!  
  
The blow came too fast for Lemmy to react. He stood there in a daze while the upset Toad screamed something about him being a monster and warned him to stay away. Confused, he walked back to Wendy.  
  
"What was that?" Wendy questioned. "What did you do?"  
  
"I don't know," Lemmy felt his face, which still stung. "But it hurt!"  
  
"The nerve of some people!" fumed Wendy. "Just because we've taken over half of their land, doesn't mean they have the right to." she trailed off, realizing she'd just answered her own question. Being the offspring of Bowser probably didn't allow for a very good reputation around these parts.  
  
"We'll just have to find the way ourselves then." concluded Lemmy. "You know, I wish my circus ball were here. I've never walked for this long without it."  
  
Every Mushroomer they saw went out of his or her way to steer clear of them, and those that didn't tried to act as if they weren't even there. Although somewhat unsettling, this did make the walk easier for the two Koopalings. The way the crowds parted when they came through, you'd have thought one of them was Moses or something.  
  
Lemmy suggested that maybe they should get out of the town. It was pretty clear that they weren't going to get a word out of any Toad around that place. Wendy didn't disagree; she was beginning to dislike the eerie silence that filled the street whenever they turned a corner.  
  
After a few more minutes of walking, they nearly bumped into a small sign. Wendy bent over so that she could read it.  
  
"It says that there's an exit over there," Wendy pointed to her left.  
  
Sure enough, there was a small building, which seemed to be a lookout tower. Beyond it was some kind of side road. They walked over but were puzzled to find the door locked, even though there were lights on inside. Wendy knocked as hard as she could.  
  
"Hello?" she called. "Anyone there?" Hearing this, a Toad in a guard's uniform opened the door a crack.  
  
"None on your kind are allowed in!" he spat as he looked up at them.  
  
"Aww, but we're already inside!" Lemmy pointed out. He probably would have just pushed his way past him had it not been for the spear the Toad was holding. "C'mon, let us out!"  
  
The guard considered this for a moment.  
  
"Come in," he said reluctantly. "But go right out the back door, and don't try anything funny. I'm watching you."  
  
Lemmy sighed as he and Wendy quickly walked through the building. They looked around. Nothing fancy, the building was probably only used as a defense station to keep out unwanted visitors. With a defense system like that, Wendy thought, it was no wonder that King Dad had managed to kidnap Princess Peach so many times.  
  
They didn't have much time to look around, because as soon as they reached the back door they were practically booted out of the building.  
  
"And don't come back!"  
  
"Well, I never," she muttered to herself. She stood up and dusted herself off. "If that's the welcome I'm going to get, I don't want to come back anyways."  
  
They continued walking in silence. While Wendy was noticing how beautiful the countryside was, Lemmy was wondering something else. How long had they been gone for? Had anyone even noticed that they were missing? Would they ever get home? He was so deep in thought that he failed to notice the large red rock blocking his path. That is, until he tripped over it.  
  
"Oww!" he moaned. "Why do these things always happen to me?"  
  
Wendy helped him get to his feet. They almost jumped out of their shells when a voice suddenly yelled at them.  
  
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"  
  
It was the rock! A Koopa's head popped out. It wasn't really a rock at all, but the shell of a Koopa Troopa. They could tell that it was a Troopa by the sunglasses it wore. It emerged fully and stood up. It seemed about to tell them off, when it suddenly realized who it was speaking to.  
  
"P-p-prince Lemmy!" it trembled. "And Princess Wendy! Forgive me, I didn't know it was you."  
  
"Of course you didn't," answered Wendy.  
  
"Humble commoner," began Lemmy "Wouldst thou discern the nearest route to mine noble castle?"  
  
"Huh? I-I- I'm afraid that I don't understand."  
  
"Oh, stop it, Lemmy." Wendy jabbed her brother in the stomach. "What he means is that we're lost, we'd like to know where we are and also the quickest way home."  
  
"Oh!" exclaimed the Troopa. "Right now you're in Grass Land. If you're looking for a way home, I'd suggest you take one of those warp pipes over there." He pointed to a large clump of bushes. "Normally, the Piranha Plants would make you pay to use them, but I'm sure in your case they'd make an exception."  
  
"Thanks! Come on, Lemmy."  
  
"I thank thee, humble commoner! Make haste to--Oomph! What was that for?"  
  
"Just shut up and let's go!" said Wendy irritably.  
  
The two Koopalings had to struggle somewhat to get to the warp pipes. The bushes and weeds were so overgrown and tangled that Lemmy supposed the pipes hadn't been used in a long time. Or maybe the Piranha Plants just liked it that way. In the middle of all the underbrush was a small clearing.  
  
"Where are the warp pipes?" asked Wendy, looking around. "I don't see any pipes or Piranha Plants!"  
  
Her question was answered soon enough.  
  
"What are you doing here?" demanded a voice. The two looked in the direction of the voice to find about four warp pipes. There was a Piranha Plant snaking out the top of the innermost one.  
  
"Hi," said Lemmy. "I'm Lemmy Koopa, and this is-"  
  
"I know who you are!" the plant cut him off. It had a thick, irritating voice and breath that could knock over a horse. "But why are you here?"  
  
"We need to use a warp pipe," answered Wendy.  
  
"Unheard of!" the plant said quickly. "These pipes have not been used in years!"  
  
"But we really need to use one," Lemmy argued. "Preferably one that leads us close to Bowser's Castle."  
  
"I suppose," grinned the Piranha Plant. "But it'll cost you."  
  
"You can have Wendy's bow," Lemmy said quickly.  
  
"No, you cannot have my bow!" objected Wendy.  
  
"Well, I don't have anything to give!"  
  
"What about your necklace?" suggested the Piranha Plant. "I'm sure it would fetch a high price on the market."  
  
After a small struggle, Lemmy managed to get a hold of Wendy's necklace and handed it to the large Piranha Plant. He held his nose and tried to hold his breath. The plant grinned smugly and indicated the warp pipe closest to its right.  
  
"That pipe," it said. "Should take you very near to your castle."  
  
"Thanks! Come on, Wendy."  
  
"I'm not speaking to you,"  
  
Lemmy sighed as he followed his sister into the warp pipe.  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	8. Chapter 8

***  
  
For a minute or so, Lemmy couldn't see anything, but he could hear. He heard the air rushing past him and the occasional "Oww!" from Wendy as she hit a sharp turn. This was the only real way he could tell to brace himself for the corners, since Wendy was farther on in the pipe than he was. The pipe itself was very dank, and the humid air smelled of mold.  
  
Soon, he could see light up ahead. His small sigh of relief was replaced by a gasp as he suddenly shot up and out of the pipe, landing nearby with a thud. He struggled to breathe for a moment as the wind had been knocked out of him. Wendy, however, had an easier landing and stood up right away. She looked around and tried to make out where they were.  
  
"As far as I can tell," Wendy began. She seemed to have forgotten her vow of silence. "We're down the road from our castle," Indeed, the two could see the very tip of the castle's towers peeking over a nearby hill.  
  
"I guess we should get going then," Lemmy took a few steps, and somehow managed to trip over one of the few potholes in the road. He cursed under his breath and made a mental note to buy a new ball when he got back. Wendy, on the other hand, seemed fine with walking. She did miss her necklace though, and her feet were getting sore from walking around in high heels the whole time.  
  
Once they reached the top of the hill, they could see that there was still some distance between them and the castle.  
  
"How long do you think it would take for us to walk that far?" Wendy asked hopefully. "Ten minutes, maybe?" Receiving no answer from her brother, she decided to stay quiet.  
  
Lemmy had mixed emotions about returning home. It would be such a relief to not have to worry about food, sleep or dehydration any more. Back home, where everything was as it should be. He smiled to himself at the thought.  
  
But his next thought wiped the grin clear off of his face. How was he supposed to tell King Dad about. about Iggy? How do you tell a parent that, out of three missing children, only two have returned? Especially when that parent just happens to be Bowser?  
  
Lemmy missed Iggy and hated himself for not being able to help him. He ran over the Doomship scene in his mind again, as he had so many times in the past couple of days. Maybe he could have helped somehow. Maybe he could have somehow held onto Iggy and shared his parachute. But all the maybes in the world couldn't change what had happened. He held back tears, but it wasn't for the first time.  
  
"Lemmy?" asked Wendy. "Are you all right? You look. as if you're about to cry or something."  
  
"I'm fine," Lemmy looked away. Something in his eyes told Wendy he was lying, and she had a pretty good idea of what was on his mind. They stopped walking.  
  
"Is this about Iggy?" No response. She tried again. "It wasn't really you're fault, you know. It. it's mine. You know that."  
  
Somehow, that was more than Lemmy could take. All of his emotions had been pushed to the limit, and hearing that just made something inside of him burst. He sat down abruptly and started bawling. Everything he had wanted to say for the past couple of days suddenly came out in a stream of jumbled howls.  
  
Wendy didn't know what to do. She crouched down and patted her brother on the back while he sobbed. It was all she could do not to cry herself.  
  
After a while, Lemmy seemed to have run out of tears. He stopped crying and began to shake violently, as if he was very cold. Wendy was already worried, and this new development scared her. She had never known her brother to be cold all of her life. Was he sick?  
  
"Lemmy?" she asked timidly. "Are you cold? Maybe you should get up. We can get back to the castle, and I'm sure they'll have something for you there."  
  
"N-n-n-no," Lemmy shivered. "I'm not cold."  
  
"Are you sure? You look awfully pale."  
  
"I'm fine," Lemmy shakily got to his feet. "Really, I'm just-"  
  
"Just what, Lemmy?"  
  
"Nothing, I'm just a little-" he stopped short again, confused. It wasn't that he didn't know what to say. What puzzled him was that he found himself unable to complete the sentence. He could form the words in his mind, but it was as if his mouth only got half of the message.  
  
"Just a little what?" Wendy was becoming more and more irritated. Was he messing with her mind?  
  
"Something's wrong, I can't-" he tried again.  
  
"You can't what?" Wendy asked.  
  
"I can't finish what I'm-" He felt his forehead. Maybe he really was coming down with something. He tried to think, what could be causing this sudden lack of words? The only time anything like this had ever happened was. when.  
  
"Lemmy? I really think you need some medical attention. We should keep heading to the castle," said Wendy worriedly. Lemmy wasn't listening however, and as she watched, a look of pure shock registered on her brother's face.  
  
Suddenly, Lemmy jumped to his feet and took off running as fast as he could towards the castle. Surprised, Wendy struggled to catch up. Lemmy wasn't very fast without his ball however, and soon she was jogging easily alongside him.  
  
"Lemmy?" she asked. "What's wrong?"  
  
"You know very-" once again, Lemmy didn't finish, which served only to further confuse his sister.  
  
After a few minutes of flat-out running, Lemmy had to slow down and eventually stop. He gasped for breath and looked at the castle again. They were only about five minutes away now.  
  
"What is wrong?" Wendy asked again. "Are you mad at me?"  
  
"No, I'm not mad at you," he panted. He seemed able to complete his thoughts again.  
  
"Then what happened?"  
  
"I don't really know," Lemmy answered truthfully as he gasped for breath. "It was as if, for a few minutes, I couldn't finish what I wanted to say. I thought maybe."  
  
"You thought maybe Iggy was back?" hearing Lemmy sniffle in reply, she continued. "I think. Maybe you wanted to see him so badly that you, you know, just imagined it."  
  
"No!" Lemmy shouted quickly. "I don't know what just happened, but I didn't imagine it!"  
  
"If you say so." Wendy responded doubtfully.  
  
Maybe Wendy was right, Lemmy thought to himself. Maybe his mind had just been playing tricks on him. As they continued walking, he pushed what had just happened out of his mind and tried to figure out what to say to Bowser.  
  
Soon enough, there they were, standing right outside of the castle door. From this distance, the castle seemed almost intimating, although they had never thought of it that way before. Its sheer size alone would be enough to make one weak at the knees, and the prospect of a wicked tyrant somewhere within the walls was unnerving for most people. The Koopalings were used to the sight however, and had never thought of it as anything other than home.  
  
Wendy rushed up and tugged at the handle. Oddly enough, she stopped in mid tug. She tried again, but it was no use.  
  
"Well, that's just great," she sighed irritably as she walked back to Lemmy. "We come all this way, and the door is locked!"  
  
Having no other ideas, Lemmy walked up to the door. He clenched his fist and knocked as hard as he could. With a loud creak, the huge door opened a crack and spread wide open.  
  
The two Koopalings gasped. Standing there at the door was just about the last Koopa they ever would have expected to see. All three just gaped at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say. After what seemed like an eternity, Lemmy regained his senses enough to speak.  
  
"Iggy?"  
  
To be continued.  
  
Rachelle Davison 2001 


	9. Chapter 9

Note from Rachelle: .Eep! I'm sorry, people! This fic has been finished forever, and I had no idea that chapter 8 was uploaded twice. Here it is now, I hope you like it despite the fact that it took forever to get here. ^^;;  
  
*** "Iggy?" Lemmy asked again, his jaw agape. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Is that really you?" "Yeah," Iggy grinned. "It's really me. But what I want to know is-" He never got the chance to finish, because Lemmy immediately tackled him. What was meant to be a bear hug took Iggy by surprise and sent the two of them tumbling, making it seem almost as if they were wrestling. Iggy, being the weaker of the two was easily pinned underneath. Wendy watched all of this in disbelief, partially because she was now staring at her supposedly dead brother, but mostly because the reunion seemed to have turned into a wrestling match. "Can't.. breathe." gasped Iggy. Embarrassed, Lemmy released him and settled for a normal hug. "Glad to know I was missed," Iggy smiled as they stood up again. "But." Wendy searched for the right words. "We thought. thought you were." "Dead?" Iggy supplied. "Believe me, I thought pretty much the same about you two." "How did you get back here then?" Lemmy asked eagerly, his voice brimming with barley contained curiosity. "It's sort of a long story," Iggy explained. "We have all the time in the world," Wendy assured him. "But, do you think maybe you could tell us over dinner?" "Yeah!" agreed Lemmy hungrily. "I'm starving!" And with that, Wendy and Lemmy raced off to the kitchen, giggling like small human children on the last day of school. They were finally home, and their shock was soon replaced by the pure ecstasy of knowing that their immediate troubles were over. Iggy shook his head, then grinned to himself. Things would soon be back to normal.  
  
*** "THAT'S you long story?" Lemmy laughed between large mouthfuls of Koopa Fruit. Normally, he hated Koopa Fruit, but it was the first thing he saw and after days without that luxury, he couldn't really care less. He and Wendy were seated around their kitchen table, shoving their faces while still trying to pay attention to Iggy's tale. "Hey, it took a lot longer to live it than it did to tell you guys!" Iggy pretended to be offended, sniffling loudly. "Aww," Wendy whined playfully. "We had to fight for our very survival for at least a week, and you're telling me that all you had to do was crash? I would have stayed myself if it would have saved us the trouble." "It's not as if it didn't hurt!" Iggy indicated his bandaged tail, unnoticed at first by his two siblings. "It was pure luck that a bunch of Cobrat happened to be in the area! They came right over when they saw the Doomship fall. If they hadn't found me, I probably wouldn't be here now!" "More like dumb luck," Lemmy laughed. Iggy scowled at him, but was distracted by Wendy. "Oh poor you," she teased. "Iggy gets a sprained tail, and we get lost in the middle of Yoshi Island's hottest desert for a week." "For your information, you were only gone for about four days!" pointed out Iggy. Lemmy smiled to himself as he watched Wendy and Iggy, arguing over who had the roughest time for the past couple of days. Four days, Iggy had said. Had it only been that long? It had seemed so much longer. "Oh c'mon Wendy," Lemmy interrupted. "Lay off Iggy. He had just as hard of a time as we did. Almost," he added as an afterthought. "Darn right I did!" Iggy exclaimed. "When I woke up, even I thought I was dead!" "You were also lucky that they lent you money for a payphone," Lemmy sniggered. The concept still seemed funny. "Don't laugh," Iggy warned. "Payphones are everywhere. Even in the middle of the desert." He meant this as a serious comment, but it only humoured them more. Wendy and Lemmy stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. Suddenly, Ludwig burst in to the kitchen, closely followed by Roy. "Iggy, you're troubles are over!" he exclaimed, holding his newest invention. This machine was about twice the size of a standard TV remote, and closely resembled one as well. It contained a single button and what appeared to be an extremely tiny satellite dish. "With a mere push of this button," Ludwig began. "Lemmy and Wendy will be transported from their current position right to this spot!" It was at this point, however, that Ludwig took the time to look around the room and at something other than Iggy. "What?" he scratched his head in bewilderment "But I didn't even press the button!" "Well, would ya look what da cat dragged in," Roy smirked. Hearing the word "cat" mentioned, Playful Meow poked her head around the corner to see what all the commotion was about. "Playful!" Wendy squealed with delight. She rushed over to her pet and scooped her up, hugging her. "Oooh, I missed you so much!" "Mrow!" Playful exclaimed angrily, trying to escape Wendy's grasp. "Fffft! Hissss!" "See?" Wendy ignored Playful's hissing and clung tighter to prevent her furry feline from leaving. "She missed me too." At this, Playful's face took on a look of resentment as she flicked her tail in annoyance. "Wow, this is the first foremost occasion in which one of my inventions has been such a success," Ludwig stared at the controller in his hand. "And I didn't even have to press the button!" "When King Dad had to go and pick up Iggy, I knew ya wouldn't be far behind," Roy grinned. "Now I have another punching bag to practice with!" "Well," Lemmy gulped. "It's uh, nice to know you guys missed us too." "It was significantly more silent without you two around," Ludwig admitted. "Me, miss you two?" Roy dawned a look of disgust. "Not on yer life!" Suddenly, Wendy cocked her head it the direction of the door Ludwig and Roy has just come through. "Do you hear that?" she listened intently. The others were all silent as they strained to hear. Sure enough, a voice could be heard. As it got louder they were able to understand more or less what was being said. "All I'm saying is, if Iggy is right about this and what he says is true, then maybe we should be looking for them. Where do you think they would be or are now? Do you think they're all right? What if something happened and they are hurt, injured, wounded, damaged or impaired? Or what if-" "All right!" a second voice cut in. "Enough already! You've asked me that same, long question at least three times, and I gave you the same answer each time! I do not know where." The second voice, which turned out to be Larry, trailed off. For it was about then that he and Morton rounded the corner into the kitchen. "Whoa," he stated. "Did I miss something here?" "Wow, Lemmy and Wendy are back!" Morton exclaimed. "That's great, super, awesome, fantastic, wonderful, fabulous, funky-" He was forced to stop, because Larry put his hand over Morton's mouth at that point. "What on Plit?" Larry asked, his hand still over Morton's mouth. "When did you two get back? And how?" "Believe when I say it's a long story." Lemmy sighed. "But I'm sure you'll all want to hear it, won't you?" Wendy batted her eyelashes. "Rrrrrrowrrrrrr." Playful growled, still pinned tightly to Wendy. Lemmy and Wendy dove right into their adventure, explaining everything that had happened from the moment they first crashed. They took turns sharing each of their accounts, and included every little detail. From meeting Ossie in the desert to Lemmy tripping over the Koopa Troopa on the back road, nothing was left out. The other Koopalings all stared in rapt attention, gasping in all the right places and even laughing when Wendy retold how she fell off of her Goonie Bird. Even Roy, who tried his best to remain uninterested, couldn't help but be impressed. ("Just a little," he said.) Through all of it, Lemmy could hardly bring himself to believe it. Not only were he and Wendy home safely, but Iggy was all right too! He felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders, as did Wendy.  
  
*** Later that night, Wendy sighed contentedly. She was in her room, and Playful was sitting at the end of her bed. She had some comfortable slippers on, and was looking forward to a nice bubble bath. How nice it is to finally be home, she thought to herself. "What was with that hug?" Playful had her pet translator switched on, and seemed ticked off. "Sure I missed you, but you could have warned me! I almost coughed up a hairball!" "Aww, you did miss me," "Well, when you're not around, no one cleans my litter box," Playful pointed out. Wendy rolled her eyes, but laughed anyway. "That wasn't supposed to be funny!" said Playful indignantly. This only made Wendy laugh harder, however. Down the hall, Lemmy was in his room getting ready for bed. He had an easier time getting around, because the first thing he made sure to do after he and Wendy told everyone their story was find a new circus ball. This wasn't too difficult, because he usually kept a spare in his closet. No longer having to feel clumsy and awkward, he had happily rolled his ball up and down the spacious halls of the castle. At the moment though, he busied himself with brushing his teeth. He was amazed at how such a simple thing could seem so nice after four days of deprivation from it. Afterwards, he yawned as he crawled into bed. Although his shell made it almost impossible to lie flat on his back, he found it comfortable just to lie of his stomach. Tonight, however, he sat on the edge on his bed, doing nothing but staring around at his room. Everything there was familiar and safe, and his "new" circus ball lay at the foot of his bed. As he lay down, he found himself recalling the new friends he had met along the way. Ossie, that feather-brained Ostro with a knack for finding his way, and Rachelle, the blazing white Birdo living in Yoshi Island's remote jungle. Would he ever see them again? Only time would tell, he supposed. And with another yawn, he drifted off to sleep, the first peaceful slumber he'd had since the whole disaster had begun.  
  
THE END 


End file.
